The Glass is Full

Today I read an article by Susan Jeffers, Ph. D that suggested to make a list of 50 things each night that we are grateful for. This helps one to be positive and focus on what we do have in life...not what we do not. I wanted to see how hard/easy it was for me to accomplish a list as long as 50....

"...When we focus on abundance, our life feels abundant; when we focus on lack, our life feels lacking. It is purely a matter of focus."- Susan Jeffers.

Today's list of abundance:
1- I made yummy chocolate chip cookies with my son and a friends daughter.
2- I got to email my man all off and on today.
3- My van is still working lol.
4- My daughter got her second set of immunizations.
5- My son is playing video games on his own 32 inch television.
6- We still have a safe house to live in.
7- We are healthy
8- My children have smiled and laughed today.
9-We will have food to eat for dinner
10- We have soft clean beds to sleep in.
11- We have hot water for our showers.
12- We have family that loves us
13- My son is going to play hockey
14- There is heat in our house
15- It was a lovely day outside.
16- My man is still working
17- The baby has good medical, diapers etc
18- We love each other
19- I have a computer
20- I am going to talk to Catherine.
21- I spent the afternoon with a friend
22- I have a good accountant lol
23- Soft pillows
24- migraine medication
25- iced tea
26- roses in the backyard
27- a pretty teapot
28- Beautiful fine art in the house
29- two dogs and two cats
30- two vehicles
31- kids have toys, food, clothes.
32- Son has back to school supplies
33- We get to travel to Hamilton this weekend
34- My daughter is going to have a lovely Christening.
35- We have three t.v's and four computers.
36- Nice neighbors
37- Cable, phone, and television
38- We can help friends to a certain degree
39- There is food in fridge and cupboards
40- I have appliances to wash clothes and dishes.
41- I get to sit around a table each night and thank God for my dinner with the family I love
42- I have a great education
43- I live near Tim Horton's, the market, and two bakeries
44- I am getting a great tax return.
45- I still have petrol in my van.
46- I might relax later with a glass of wine
47- I can afford the prescription for my daughters diaper rash ointment
48- I have fresh fruit and veggies in my crisper and chocolate bars on the shelf lol
49- I have craft supplies to do crafts with my children
50- I am feeling very lucky right now with how abundant my life really is......

Thank-you to Susan lol,
x - Jennifer

fireflies

I heard a women in a movie say that she once went hunting for ladybugs. Disappointed from having found so few, she gave up and lay down in the green grass. The sweet smells and soothing sounds of summer lulled her to sleep. A gentle tickle upon her arm woke her, and looking around she realized,...she was covered in ladybugs.
Last night I went and sat on my frount porch with a warm cup of cafe mocha. I started to read (King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table). Absorbed in the story I lost all sence of time and place. The heavy dark of night wrapped around me until I declared defeat and closed the novel. It was then, looking up, that I saw a wealth of tiny sparkling lights, dancing around me. It was mystical and enchanting.
It seems that for some it is ladybugs,...but for me, who always seems to take the road less travelled by, lol, it was Fireflies. :-)

25 random things about me.

1- I LOVE my friends! They are exceptional people.
2-I tell stories about purple llamas.
3-Most of my day is spent prying things out of my new puppies mouth before he eats them.
4-I have naked paintings of people in my basement that I am holding for ransom lol.
5-I am afraid of crowds-mods, the masses of people who can become crazy at a moments notice.
6-I eat when I am stressed, which is like always...but I am thankful for my stress because if I was not...I would likely be dead.
7-I love to read Dr.Seuss, he was a genius.
8-I can quote most of any Muppet movie ever made. Talented I know, lol.(Jim Henson's favorite movie, that he made, was the dark crystal. Worth a watch.)
9-I try not to make judgments about other women. There are enough people in the world already doing it, they do not require my contribution.(My father's ex-girlfriend is making this a very trying thing to accomplish!!!!!!.....oops.

)
10- I have played naked badminton with friends that ended in a hospital visitation. (For my friend.)
11- I try to be nice to EVERYONE! Although some people make that difficult.I think it is wrong to be mean to people even if they are consistently annoying. No one has the right to treat another person poorly, ever.
12-I am addicted to coffee, pastries, and orgasms. lmao.
13-I puck my eyebrows in the car because the light and the mirror are the best in there.
14-I can't cook, and I lake the domestic skills that are prized in most women. Thankfully my husband is very good at it. :-)
15-I Love the Market! and Old Walkerville, and the smell of the hop's from Hiram Walkers (which I refused to call by the new name!)....I find these places strangely comforting.
16- I collect rooster stuff, lingerie, funky old jewelery, and early English children s literature.
17- my favorite pastime is to read books in a bubble bath.It may sound strange but it is the only quiet room in the house where I can be alone.
18- I love the American History, but I have a firmer background in British....Canadian History bores me.
19-I am a Great Big Sea Groupie and have great concert memories with my friends!I also have a crush on James Blunt...yummy!
20-I am thankful everyday to be Canadian, but I still realize my country has flaws.
21-I am anti-war, anti-military, and slightly socialist.
22-I like to turn the music up really high and jump around the house and furniture naked!...I try to remember to close the windows so that I do not scare people, lol.
23-I made a list of 10 things I plan to do before I die.....I really should get working on that!..who is going skydiving with me this summer?
24-I love going to Straitford for plays, shopping, and chocolate! We used to go three or four times a year.We actually saw "Taming of the Shew" done as a western....oddly enough it was good.
25- I would like to meet the Dali llama, and Nelson Mandela,but my My favorite person in the entire universe is Edward Michael Ball.

The Feminists Daughter....

So last week I had to face one of my biggest fears....I am a feminist...and I'm having a baby girl! My education has taught me about the trials of women throughout history. I have taught younger women about Woman's history and shared my knowledge of the world that was and the world that is. I often read the statistics and information presented by NATO and woman's organizations about world wide issues facing the female sex today. As well, I have seen the documentaries and scholarly works produced about past and current horrors faced by women and girls in our world. The anger I felt when I learned of how may years rape has been ignored as a war crime, or when I read the yearly stats concerning violence against women and children in North America, or when I learned of the horrors of events of the former Yugoslavia have stolen from me the blind happiness that having a baby girl brings to most people. I know how it feels to to see a women scared to go home with her children, and to struggle to have something comforting to say to a girl who may have experienced rape.
More everyday experiences have allowed me to hear how women are talked about when they try to do something as simple as run a race..."that one has a nice chest...look at that bootee" . What the hell makes someone think women runners are there to be judged? Guess what...they came to run! I have known what it is like to not be able to go for a walk with your dog in a plain old jogging suit without roofers yelling about how bad you look. Why would a women dress up to walk her dog?
Yes this is a rant, but perhaps you are beginning to see that as I received the ultrasound at the hospital the other day, and as the doctor said those words..."It's a girl"....I watched Mark beam with delight as I smiled gently...a thousands thoughts running through my head. How do I ...of all people ...raise a girl?!?
I sat next to my auntie at the London Cancer Clinic yesterday, both of us knowing what the cat-scan would say,... my thoughts began to change and the fear eased....slightly lol. I realized that I was sitting with one of the most incredible women I have ever known. A women full of courage, strength and vast amounts of compassion. Thoughts of my mother came back to me, and if nothing else she was willed, determined, intelligent and an exceptionally caring nurse. May my daughter respect me and remember me with even half the love I hold for these women. I realized that yes I had know about the horrors, struggles, and pain of women throughout history.....but I also learned and taught about their courage, strength to create change, their incredible capability for survival, and their compassion.This is what I will give my daughter... to share my knowledge, strength and experience...to tell her about the the amazing women that have been and that ones that are still.
I have been blessed with a partner and father for this child that will be an exceptional example of a man, father, and helpmate. Just as his father is. His mother will be a fine example of the fortitude, knowledge, and kindness I so respect and admire. My life is filled with friends who have faced and continue to face the challenges of life with courage, respectability and love. Together they will help my daughter to learn and conduct herself in this world with respect and dignity. I may be facing one of the greatest challenges of my life, and all the fears that come with being feminist and having a girl....but I have come to realize that with family and friends, who are fine examples, and with their shared knowledge and experiences....i might raise a women ...who will not only make me reexamine my perspectives ....but one who might just change the world x

Avah Rebecca Toohey